Russians’ approval of Putin hits near all-time high, poll shows

President Putin’s average approval marks from the Russian public have approached the record level of early 2008, independent research has shown.

The poll conducted in late September by the Levada sociology
center shows that the average mark given by Russians to their
leader is now 7.33 out of 10. This figure has been higher only
once before – a mark of 7.49 reached in January 2008 at the very
end of Putin’s first two terms as president.

17 percent of all respondents think Putin deserved the top mark –
10 out of 10 – for his work.

In the same poll, 38 percent of Russians said the head of state
was worthy of their trust because his current performance was
strong and successful.

At the same time, the overwhelming majority of respondents denied
that the president’s popularity was turning into a personality
cult. Only 19 percent said they had noticed features resembling a
cult, compared to 27 percent a year ago.

The poll results are consistent with a recent tendency for
record-breaking ratings for President Putin and other top Russian
officials. Researchers explain this by ‘mobilization’ and
solidarity of society in the face of foreign hostility, and also
by events like the accession of the Crimean Republic into the
Russian Federation.

In mid-August, 57 percent of Russians told Levada Center that
they were ready to vote for Putin if presidential elections were
held on the nearest weekend. January 2014, the share of such
people was about 29 percent and that means that Vladimir Putin’s
presidential rating has doubled in almost seven months.

Another influential sociological think-tank, the Public Opinion
Foundation, conducted similar research in early August. It found
that 68 percent of all potential voters were ready to support
Putin at presidential elections, compared to 58 percent in March
and 46 percent in January.